This serious problem gets overshadowed by Breast Cancer Awareness Month which is also held in October. Both causes affect millions of women all over the world. I have written about my experience here and others need to share their stories in the hopes it helps someone else. There are several blogs and organizations dedicated to the safety of women and children and domestic partnerships who have been affected by abuse both physical and emotional. This is also an important issue in this upcoming election. If left to the men-folk, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_Against_Women_Act) will be expire and all the progress made to ensure this violence is stopped will lose all funding and victims will have nowhere to turn. This issue is just as critical as the fight against cancer. To me, domestic violence is a cancer plaguing the world for too long! Victims have very little rights but California has taken a step in the right direction with the Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy’s Law (http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Victim_Services/Marsys_Law.html). Some of the basics of the law are as follows:

(1) To be treated with fairness and respect for his or her privacy and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse, throughout the criminal or juvenile justice process.

(2) To be reasonably protected from the defendant and persons acting on behalf of the defendant.

(3) To have the safety of the victim and the victim’s family considered in fixing the amount of bail and release conditions for the defendant.

(4) To prevent the disclosure of confidential information or records to the defendant, the defendant’s attorney, or any other person acting on behalf of the defendant, which could be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim’s family or which disclose confidential communications made in the course of medical or counseling treatment, or which are otherwise privileged or confidential by law. You can read the law further by clicking on the link above.

It is my hope and prayer that the other 49 states follow California’s lead and a federal law is adopted to save millions of lives. Domestic Violence doesn’t discriminate and the victims are NEVER at fault! Even when you exercise due diligence and do background checks, the information on whether someone is violent or not is often buried because of the current laws. That’s why I created a petition to The Texas State House, The Texas State Senate, Governor Rick Perry, The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama, which says:

“Create a registry and require those who have committed violent acts (assault of any kind including but not limited to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse) against women and children to register including those on a deferred probation status.”